


thought process

by flamingstuffs



Category: Dungeons and Daddies (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, New record, Spoilers, i think there isn't a single cuss word in the whole thing, little to no dialogue, softly falling in love, this goes without saying but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:21:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25176829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamingstuffs/pseuds/flamingstuffs
Summary: There’s a kiss that means more than the others.
Relationships: Henry Oak/Darryl Wilson, Henry Oak/Mercedes Oak-Garcia, Henry Oak/Mercedes Oak-Garcia/Darryl Wilson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 74





	thought process

Henry Oak is the kind of man who loves deeply and sometimes, the cup runneth over, and Henry becomes the kind of man who is in love with Darryl Wilson. It's not that Darryl is any sort of a romance novel protagonist, or even that he seems like he understands relationships very well, but simply that Darryl is solid ground. Henry sits in the passenger seat and looks, and looks, and looks. Darryl’s strong hands on the steering wheel, his delighted grin when the conversation turns to football, his furrowed brow when the van falls into silence (Henry assumes he’s worrying about his son, or Carol, or any number of ills. Henry wishes he could fix it). 

Henry thinks of Mercedes Oak-Garcia often. He thinks about her smile and her beautiful hair and how she is strong where he is gentle. Henry knows he needs strong people, he ends up loving strong people. Darryl reminds him of Mercedes, sometimes, and yet sometimes is so opposite that it gives him whiplash. Henry wonders if they would get along. He asks Darryl if he’s ever met Mercedes Oak-Garcia, and Darryl says twice, both at soccer games. Henry wonders what it would be like if Mercedes had been in the van instead of him that day. He laughs to himself - they would have had the boys and vacated the Forgotten Realms in a third of the time with Mercedes Oak-Garcia at the helm. He thinks about her in bed, her beside him, inside him, making love. He wonders in passing what Darryl would be like in bed - (aggressive? attentive? timid?). He doesn’t settle on an option before he feels guilty and forces himself to think of something else. It comes back up on some occasions, some small moments of weakness, like whenever Darryl takes his shirt off and Henry short-circuits for a while, or when the two of them have kissed for god-knows what reason. He savors those memories now, but at the time it was a passing occurrence. He wishes he had known how he’d feel now, that he’d focused more on the moment. 

Henry texts Mercedes Oak-Garcia exactly one photo during his time in the Forgotten Realms. They’ve stopped for the night, out of sight of any town or village, just four men out in the wild woods. The sun has dropped below the horizon, and they’re all gathered around a campfire that took three out of the four of them to get started. They eat power bars and drink pale ale, and they only talk a little. They don’t need to say much. Henry looks at Darryl in the firelight and stealthily takes a picture. He sends it to Mercedes without a second thought, adding ‘?’. She responds a few seconds later with, ‘!’. He smiles and puts his phone away. He’s got her blessing. 

Darryl takes a call. Not the same night, but around the same time. He gets up from the fire, walks a small distance away. He doesn’t really say much, but Henry watches his face, and sees his posture get small. Darryl ends the call with a deflated ‘I love you.’ and comes back to the group. He sits next to Henry and puts his head in his hands. Glenn looks at Henry with raised eyebrows, as if to say ‘Yo, fix this.’ Henry wishes he could. All he can do is pat Darryl’s back and make magical wishes. He imagines summoning the whole forest to come and shred all of Darryl’s troubles to nothing. At least he’s sending the intentions out into the universe.

It’s funny, because Henry doesn’t remember when he met Darryl. It’s almost unthinkable now, with the way he’s physically aware of Darryl’s presence in a way he didn’t know was possible before. He wonders, often, if he would ever have felt this way without a portal and magic and danger. He wouldn’t have known Darryl in any way other than passing. The thought of that makes it feel like there’s a hollow in his chest.

There’s a kiss that means more than the others. Imagine it how you like - at night, neither of them able to sleep, both thinking about faraway wives, comforting and soft, hands cupping faces - after the thrill of a battle closely won, one or both of them nearly escaping death, relieved and passionate, hands on hips - in the middle of an argument, aggressive and sudden, hands fisted in the collar of a shirt - they start something. Henry hardly dares to hope, vows not to push too fast (Darryl has some hangups to work out). They hook fingers while Darryl drives. They pair up when they stay at inns and taverns. Henry knows that Glenn, at least suspects something, and another thing Henry knows well is how much he does NOT know about what Ron knows. Henry is not ashamed, but he respects that Darryl needs time. 

Lark and Sparrow take it in stride. Lark narrows his eyes and declares that Darryl must be tried by combat to be allowed to join the Oaks, and Sparrow bestows Darryl with a simple ‘Namaste.’ Darryl does not know which of the two confuses him more. 

Grant doesn’t react much. Henry sees him having quiet conversations with Darryl off to the side quite often. Darryl says it’s Grant’s business to share if he feels like it, and Henry respects Grant’s privacy. Mostly.

They make it home. It’s surprisingly, almost horribly mundane, walking down a normal, American street, the four adults and their gaggle of children. Henry sees a McDonalds and has to recalibrate his brain. They all catch a bus home. They’ve been gone a while, just enough to worry, not enough to file a missing persons report. He exchanges a look with Darryl when they near his house, but Darryl just shakes his head. He’s not ready to go back. Grant looks pained just thinking about it. Henry nods, and they continue on to the Oak-Garcia abode. 

The bus lets them off, and Henry stands there, finally home, finally safe, with his two beautiful boys, and Grant, and Darryl and his eyes well up. Darryl wordlessly takes his hand and squeezes. Mercedes Oak-Garcia opens the front door, and is immediately jumped by Lark and Sparrow. She’s the most beautiful thing Henry has ever seen. He starts at a walk but when he gets there it’s magnetic - he holds her tighter than he ever has before and he never wants to let go. He is actually crying now, and he just stands there with Mercedes in his arms for a long, long time. Eventually he realizes Darryl is hovering on the sidelines (Grant was taken inside by the welcome party several minutes ago). Henry holds out a hand and introduces the loves of his life to each other. 

Darryl doesn’t fit immediately into the household. He and Henry are at odds more often than not, and he wants to eat meat all the time. Lark is rapidly becoming an omnivore. He doesn’t feel comfortable sleeping in Henry and Mercedes’ bed with them, so he sleeps on a futon in the living room and Henry sleeps in different places each night. It’s not perfect. 

Henry tells Mercedes every detail of their journey. She combs his hair through her fingers and just listens, never questioning or denying. Henry wonders how he got so lucky. 

Darryl has to go to his house eventually. He has to face Carol, and the lawyers, and the reality of it all. Henry asks if Darryl wants him there, and Darryl doesn’t answer him. Henry doesn’t go.

Mercedes Oak-Garcia is much quicker on the draw than Henry Oak, and she kisses Darryl on the one month anniversary of their return from the Forgotten Realms. Henry walks in on them making out in the kitchen like teenagers, and turns so red that Mercedes breaks away to laugh at him. Darryl joins them in their bed that night. Darryl is, by the way, an attentive lover. 

Henry lays awake in bed that night, between a lightly snoring Mercedes and halfway on top of a peacefully sleeping Darryl. He soaks up the moment, looking at his wife’s face laced in silver from the moonlight coming through the curtains, and feeling Darryl’s chest move as he breathes, and he wonders how he ever got so lucky. It’s perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> i love henry oak, he DOES bathe, thank you for coming to my ted talk


End file.
